Marine Corps Marathon - Race Report

Sunday was my second marathon, and my second time running the Marine Corps Marathon. As expected it was a wonderful experience. I was having a ton of anxiety this year because hurricane Sandy was headed to DC and was supposed to hit the day of the race. Luckily the rain held off until Sunday night. It was a little windy, but I am just happy I didn't have to run 26.2 miles soaking wet.

My sister Chrissy ran the MCM 10K, so we left the house around 5:30am and headed to the Metro station. Last year I made my dad and Ryan come with me, so they were thrilled that Chrissy was able to me my Metro buddy this year. Both races started at 7:55am, at different locations. The 10K started at the Smithsonian and ended at Iwo Jima and the MCM started at the Pentagon and ended at Iwo Jima.

Two Osprey's Flying Over the Starting Line 

I headed to the start line at around 7:50am after waiting in line for the bathroom for about 20 minutes. I didn't have time to make it to the right corral for my expected finish time so I ended up lining up wherever I could which was with the 4:30 expected finish timers.

The start of the race was slow because it was so crowded, but I didn't mind... it let me enjoy the spectators and scenery. I felt really good for the first 14 miles, not pushing my pace too much. By the time I reached mile 14 Chrissy had finished the 10K and headed back into DC to meet up with Ryan and my Dad. I got to see them at 3 different points along the race which was great.

Running for World Peace!

I really started to struggle at the 14th Street Bridge, which was around mile 20. My legs were feeling weak and I was pretty much ready for a beer at that point. I powered through Crystal City and the last few miles knowing the end was in sight. There is a short steep hill at the very end of the race, which is a absolute killer...but knowing I was so close to the finish I pretty much sprinted up it and pushed myself to finish strong.

Finish Line at the Iwo Jima Memorial

Official finish time 4:15:36. My goal was to finish is four hours, which I obviously didn't achieve, but I am happy with my performance, I couldn't have pushed myself any harder. If I had a faster start I probably could have shaved off a few minutes. Next year I will need to get there even earlier to get in the correct starting corral.

I will post more pictures when we get home. We are still stuck in Virginia because of the storm. We have had two flights cancelled, but hope to fly out tomorrow afternoon...fingers crossed.